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Thursday, March 28, 2024

News You Can Use From Phil’s Stock World

 

Financial Markets and Economy

Here’s how Apple, Nike and others avoided $620 billion in taxes (Market Watch)

Big U.S. companies are holding more than $2.1 trillion in profits overseas and are avoiding paying about $620 billion in U.S. taxes, according to a study released Tuesday.

The study by liberal groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund found that nearly three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies had at least one tax-haven subsidiary in 2014. Bermuda and the Cayman Islands were the most popular tax-haven destinations.

SunEdison's Plan to Cut Costs May Not Be Enough, Analyst Says (Bloomberg)

SunEdison Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Chatila has some explaining to do, after announcing plans to fire 15 percent of his workforce. It’s his latest move to reverse anindustry-worst 70 percent slump in market value over three months.

This chart shows that the stock market could get banged up a lot more and it'd be totally normal (Business Insider)

On August 20, the S&P 500 snapped its streak of 211 sessions without a 5% pullback. This was the longest such streak since March 31, 2003 to February 11, 2004, when the benchmark index went 219 days without a 5% drop. 

5% pullbacks

Cracks emerge in U.S. oil boom (CNN)

The American energy boom is finally showing some cracks from the crash in oil prices.

U.S. oil production decreased by 120,000 barrels per day in September from August, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.

Exelon Strikes Pact With D.C. Mayor in $6.8 Billion Pepco Deal (Bloomberg)

Exelon Corp. reached a settlement Tuesday with Washington’s mayor on its $6.8 billion proposal to buy utility Pepco Holdings Inc., bringing it closer to a deal that has been in the works for more than a year.

A pricey valuation is no sign of a dying bull market (Business Insider)

Most investors consider the stock market's valuation before making their decisions to buy or sell.

cotd pe levels bull markets

IMF: Global growth is weakest since the crisis (CNN)

World economic growth this year will be the weakest since 2009, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

Top Rupee Forecaster Says Bond Opening to Sustain Best Asia Gain (Bloomberg)

The top rupee forecaster sees the currency maintaining its position as Asia’s best performer after India allowed foreigners greater access to its debt.

Deja vu: Latest Apple iPhones cause U.S. imports to soar again (Market Watch)

It’s now a ritual: Apple releases a new iPhone model and U.S. imports soar.

These are the 2 things that will drive markets in the next three months (Business Insider)

The third quarter was dismal, with major US stock indices posting their worst quarter since 2011.

Now, the question is: What is going to drive performance through the rest of 2015?

Biotech Rout Back as Profits Become Latest Investor Concern (Bloomberg)

A bull market favorite continues to lose its luster.

Biotechnology stocks plunged Tuesday, with an index tracking the industry at one point heading for its worst loss since August 2011, after earnings warnings from companies that sell technology to drug firms and concern about pharmaceutical pricing reignited selling that began three weeks ago.

Sector remains in bear market rout

Trade deficit balloons to $48.3 billion (Business Insider)

The trade deficit swelled to $48.3 billion in August, according to the Department of Commerce.

Trade

Big Oil Deferring Spending Lowers Costs for India's Top Explorer (Bloomberg)

The worst commodity slump in a generation has a silver lining for India’s state-run energy explorer.

Gold rallies, eyes best level in over a week (Market Watch)

Gold futures on Tuesday headed for their highest settlement in more than a week, set for a third straight session gain as investors focus on the expectation that benchmark interest rates will be lower for longer.

December gold GCZ5, +0.04% climbed by $10.20, or 0.9%, to $1,147.80 an ounce on Comex. That would the highest settlement for a most-active contract since Sept. 24. December silver SIZ5, -0.40%  also picked up 32.7 cents, or 2.1%, to trade at $16.045 an ounce.

Coal's Upside? Things Can't Get Much Worse After a Dire 2015 (Bloomberg)

Here’s some good news for a downtrodden U.S. coal industry: next year can’t get much worse after a disastrous 2015.

Silver Coin Premiums Soar Above 50% (Zero Hedge)

Courtesy of Sharelynx' Nick Laird who tracks precious metal premium by vendor, we continue our recent series showing the discrepancy between paper and physical metals, in this case silver. As Nick notes, APMEX price premiums are a lot higher than the Monex. And as can be seen in the charts below, premiums rose above 50% for 1-19 coins & above 40% for 500 plus coins.

It Looks Like Free Money Is Available in the Credit Market (Bloomberg)

A credit market curiosity, presented for your enjoyment.

Here is so-called 'skew' in Markit's North American High Yield CDX, a derivatives index tied to the credit default swaps (CDS) of 100 junk-rated companies and one of the most liquid credit-trading instruments around.

The last 6 months of stock market headlines and overreactions in one chart (Business Insider)

Fortunately, the folks at Bespoke annotated the last six months of S&P 500 moves and put them in one chart so that we can all reminisce on what a half-year it has been. 

Bespoke March to Sept

Politics

Trump as Your Drunk Neighbor (The Atlantic)

That drunk neighbor is still leading the GOP race by a long shot, according to new numbers today from Public Policy Polling: Trump 27, Carson 17, Rubio 13, Bush 10. Allahpundit acknowledges that “only once since the second GOP debate had [Trump] reached as high as 26 percent in a national poll,” but he sees trouble for Trump under the surface.

Still to the right?Bernanke: I’m not really a Republican anymore (Quartz)

Ben Bernanke has publicly broken ranks with the Republican party.

In one of the more revealing passages of his just-published book The Courage to Act, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve lays out his experience with Republican lawmakers during the twin financial and economic crises that dominated his term as the head of the world’s most important central bank. Continual run-ins with hard-right Republicans—such as noted Fed critic Ron Paul, the former Texas congressman—gradually pushed him away from the party that first put him in charge of the Fed in 2006. 

Technology

U.S. and Japanese tech nerds plan to go to war (Market Watch)

I’m not particularly fond of sports.

Whenever someone mentions soccer (which is popular here in Croatia), basketball or anything else that even remotely resembles sports activities, I do my best to change the topic. The most fun I get out of soccer matches is watching the highlights. I thought watching sports could never interest me. All this may change, though.

Microsoft to Start Shipping HoloLens Prototype Next Year (Bloomberg)

Augmented-reality developers will soon be able to get their hands on a prototype of Microsoft Corp.’s HoloLens. The cost? $3,000.

The development kit will be shipped during the first three months of 2016, Microsoft said Tuesday. The gadget lets programmers create software for the device, which overlays computer-generated images through goggles to show interactive environments. Technology companies usually roll out development kits before introducing a product to consumers, seeking to foster the creation of applications that will help to boost its appeal.

Health and Life Sciences

pink tablets in heart on greenHappier heart patients take their meds (Futurity)

People with heart disease may benefit from keeping their spirits up, new research suggests.

Over the course of five years the researchers tracked more than 1,000 patients with coronary heart disease. Patients who reported higher positive psychological states were more likely to be physically active, sleep better, and take their heart medications and were also less likely to smoke, compared to patients with lower levels of positive states.

There Are Special Neurons That Tell the Brain It's Time to Make BabiesThere Are Special Neurons That Tell the Brain It's Time to Make Babies (Gizmodo)

Biologists already knew that one set of neurons play a big role in triggering puberty. A new study shows that these neurons don’t stop working once puberty ends, but keep running through adulthood, serving as a sort of reproductive timer.

Benzodiazepines ineffective in treating anxiety disorders may increase dementia risk (Science Daily)

Patients taking benzodiazepines to treat psychiatric conditions should consider transitioning to other therapies because of heightened risks for dementia and death, according to clinicians from the American College of Osteopathic Neurologists and Psychiatrists.

Benzodiazepines include branded prescription drugs like Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax. 

Life on the Home Planet

Hundreds Of New Species Found Within The Eastern Himalayas (Popular Science)

The Blue-eyed Frog is one of ten new frog species discovered in isolated areas within the Eastern Himalayas.

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